On December 20, 2022, the Notification re: Rules, Procedures, and Conditions on Transfer of Energy Licenses of the Thailand Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) became effective. The notification sets out the new standard and procedure for transferring licenses for energy industry operation. The notable changes in the notification are provided below. Anti-Competition Consideration and Impact Assessment Report In considering the transfer of a license, in addition to ensuring the transferee meets all the qualifications for an applicant for the license, the ERC will consider if the transfer would (1) create a monopoly, reduce or restrict competition, or result in market dominance; (2) affect the contracting parties of the transferors or energy users; or (3) affect energy security or the public interest. In this respect, the vetting process for an application for license transfer would be separated into two different approaches. If the ERC believes that the transfer of the energy license would affect competition, energy users, energy security, or the public interest, the transferor will need to submit an impact assessment report on the license transfer to the ERC. In this regard, the ERC may establish a sub-committee or an independent consultant to contemplate the transfer at the transferor’s expense. However, if the ERC believes that the transfer of license would not lead to any impact, the transferor will not be required to submit the impact assessment. Also, if the license transfer is related to any transactions specified under the ERC’s Regulation re: Rules and Procedures on Merger and Cross-Shareholding in Energy Businesses, B.E. 2565, the ERC can combine the license transfer application with the M&A application. After approval, the ERC might require the transferee to periodically report to the ERC and comply with measures stipulated by the ERC. Therefore, an energy license holder which plans to carry out M&A activity or cross-shareholding transactions, or

Thailand has issued a Royal Decree on the Supervision of Regulated Digital Identification Authentication and Verification Service Businesses B.E. 2565 (2022) (the “Royal Decree”), aimed at regulating business operators that provide digital identification authentication and verification services (“Digital ID Services”). The Royal Decree was published in the Government Gazette in December 2022, and will take effect 180 days from the publication date, i.e., on June 21, 2023. The key details and requirements of the Royal Decree are as follows: Regulated Digital ID Services Under the Royal Decree, the provision of the following Digital ID Services requires prior approval from the Electronic Transaction Development Agency: Identity verification service – Services for collecting and identifying information relating to the identity of a person, and verifying the connections between the person and the identity. Authenticator issuance and management service – Services relating to the connection between a person who has passed the identification process with an authenticator, and managing actions which are used to identify a person. Authentication service – A process to authenticate a person by inspecting his/her authenticator. Digital ID networks/systems – Provision of networks or systems used to exchange information for digital identification purposes, excluding services provided by an intermediary. Exempted Digital ID Services The Royal Decree also specifies a list of Digital ID Services that are exempted from supervision under the Royal Decree, as follows: Issuance of certificates to support the use of electronic signatures in accordance with the Electronic Transaction Act. Digital ID Services conducted for use within the operator’s own business only, and which do not involve the provision of such services to third parties. Other Digital ID Services as prescribed by the Electronic Transaction Committee. Qualifications of Business Operators The types of business operators qualified to operate Digital ID Services include (i) private limited companies; (ii) public limited companies; and (iii) other juristic persons as prescribed by the Electronic

On February 10, 2023, the government of Vietnam issued Decree No. 03/2023/ND-CP regulating the functions, rights and duties, and organizational structure of the National Competition Commission (“Decree 03”). The National Competition Commission (official English name Vietnam Competition Commission or VCC) was first mentioned in the updated Law on Competition of 2018 and is meant to be the leading authority responsible for the state management of competition matters in Vietnam. However, nearly five years later, no penalty decisions for competition violations under the Law on Competition 2018 have been issued, due to a lack of regulations on the functions of the VCC. Thus, the issuance of Decree 03 is an important milestone and is expected to increase the authorities’ enforcement against competition-related violations in Vietnam. The VCC is an agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) and consolidates the previous Vietnam Competition Council and Vietnam Competition Authority. The VCC is mainly responsible for: (1) carrying out competition proceedings, (2) controlling economic concentration, (3) deciding on exemptions from prohibited anti-competitive agreements, (4) handling appeals of decisions on settlement of competition cases; (5) advising and assisting the MOIT in performing the state management of competition, protecting consumers’ interests, and managing multi-level marketing activities; and (6) other responsibilities as may be assigned by the MOIT. For each case of alleged anti-competition, the chair of the VCC will establish a Council for Handling Anti-Competitive Case, which will dissolve itself upon the fulfillment of its responsibilities. The VCC is made up of 15 members, including the chair and one or more vice chairs, and will also include the following departments: Competition investigation agency; Secretariat of Councils for Handling Anti-Competitive Cases; Competition Supervision Board; and Units perform the function of state management of competition, protection of consumers’ interests, and management of multi-level marketing activities. Decree 03 will take effect on April 1,

To improve its patent application processing capacity, the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Office), with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is continuing to develop a draft amendment to the patent application examination guidelines for inventions related to computer programs. After issuing Annex I to the patent application examination guidelines in 2021, which covered subject-matters related to computer programs that are protected as inventions, the IP Office’s Patent Examination Center, with the support of experts from the JICA, has now developed a draft of Annex II. This draft provides guidance on examination related to a sufficient disclosure of the substance of claimed subject-matters and an assessment of the protection criteria (novelty and inventive step) of subject-matters related to computer programs, along with illustrative examples. In addition, the draft introduces the concepts of “sub-combination inventions” and “mixed-type inventions”, an assessment of the clarity of sub-combination inventions, and the assessment of novelty and inventive step of mixed-type inventions. To evaluate the amendments in the draft, in conformity with the legal regulations and the examination practice, the Patent Examination Center organized a discussion of the draft on February 4, 2023, with the contribution of opinions and comments from IP representatives, organizations, schools, institutes, and individuals. The Patent Examination Center announced that it wishes to receive further constructive opinions from interested parties to improve the amendments of the guidelines. In the context that inventions related to computer programs are closely related to new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), and noting the many difficulties arising in the examination process, we hope that the amendments to the guidelines, specifically as outlined in the draft of Annex II, will soon be finalized and officially released. This annex will certainly facilitate the examination of inventions related to computer programs, as well as be a useful reference

Thailand’s Office of the Prime Minister has issued a new regulation titled Giving or Receiving Gifts of State Officials B.E. 2565 (2022). This regulation, which took effect on January 13, 2023, repeals the previous 2001 version and updates certain provisions to be in sync with Thailand’s primary anticorruption law, the Organic Act on Anti-Corruption B.E. 2561 (2018). The regulation prohibits state officials’ family members from receiving gifts from people who are dealing with the officials’ respective agencies. It also prohibits state officials from giving gifts to their supervisors and their supervisors’ family members. An exception, carried over from the previous version of the regulation, is provided for gifts on limited “customary occasions” valued at THB 3,000 or less. There are some notable revisions in the definitions of the new regulation. The term “gift” is now clearly defined to include “training” or “seminars.” In addition, the term “family members” now includes spouses living together “as husband and wife,” even if not legally married. For example, the common-law spouse of an officer considering a license application is not allowed to receive a gift from or attend an overseas seminar organized by the applicant. The regulation also provides: Guidelines for state officials to self-report in case of violation by a family member; Instructions on how to deal with the gifts received in violation; and Disciplinary actions for violation. Importantly, the regulation continues to prohibit the receipt of gifts by state officials’ family members but does not expressly criminalize the giving of gifts by private parties. However, all who deal with government officials should take note of the updated regulation to avoid creating a situation that might violate the rules.

On January 16, 2023, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prescribed a set of security measures that digital asset business operators must implement if they provide custody of digital assets for their customers. The new security measures are prescribed in two notifications from the SEC and its office on digital asset wallet management systems and cryptographic key management systems, with the aim of safeguarding digital assets in custody against loss, fraud, and cybertheft. The notifications took immediate effect. The new security measures and the management systems are summarized below. Policy and guidelines for managing systems related to digital asset custody Digital asset business operators must have a written risk management policy for all systems relating to digital asset custody, approved by their board of directors and made accessible to all employees. The policy must be reviewed or revised at least once annually, or promptly if any potential risks are identified. Specific procedures must be implemented, such as establishment of a compliance team and internal controls. Management of systems for digital asset wallets and cryptographic keys Digital asset business operators must have policies and procedures for managing all systems relating to digital asset custody. This includes properly designing, developing, and managing digital asset wallets in a safe and secure manner. The same requirement on policies and procedures applies to cryptographic key management as well. Management of incidents that may affect systems related to digital asset custody Digital asset business operators must have measures in place to manage incidents that may impact systems related to digital asset custody. The measures include designating a person responsible for incident management, testing and reviewing the incident management policy annually, reporting any incidents affecting digital asset custody to the designated responsible person and the SEC immediately, and conducting a digital forensic investigation with an independent specialist, if necessary. If an incident affects the

Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance is drafting a circular on determining the origin of imported and exported goods. This circular, a draft version of which has been released for public comment (“Draft Circular”), consolidates prevailing regulations and guidelines on determining the origin of imported and exported goods that are stipulated in the following legal documents, which the Draft Circular would replace when it comes into effect: Circular No. 38/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018, of the Ministry of Finance regulating the determination of origin of imported and exported goods, as amended by Circular No. 62/2019/TT-BTC dated September 5, 2019, of the Ministry of Finance; Circular No. 47/2020/TT-BTC dated May 27, 2020, regulating the time to submit documents proving the origin of goods and form of the documents proving the origin of imported goods applied during the Covid-19 pandemic; and Circular No. 07/2021/TT-BTC dated January 25, 2021, regulating the time to submit documents proving the origin of imported goods under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). Generally speaking, the Draft Circular does not increase the administrative procedures for importers and exporters, but rather seeks to codify the recent practices implemented by the customs authorities. The Draft Circular focuses on providing comprehensive guidance for importing/exporting companies when carrying out administrative procedures to certify the origins of imported and exported goods to be in line with current trade practices and international commitments under new-generation free trade agreements. In particular, the Draft Circular supplements guidelines on declaring origins and submitting Certificates of Origin (C/Os) of imported goods under the EVFTA and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). The Draft Circular also provides some new guidelines to facilitate exports (and imports) and overcome some obstacles and issues when implementing the prevailing regulations. For example, the submission of C/Os online, which was only applicable during the Covid-19 period, would still be

Government Approves Legislative Dossier On February 7, 2023, the Vietnamese government issued Resolution No. 13/NQ-CP (“Resolution 13”) to approve the latest version of the draft Personal Data Protection Decree (“Draft PDPD”)—a draft which has not yet been made public. Similar to Resolution No. 27/NQ-CP issued in March 2022 approving the previous version of the Draft PDPD (“Resolution 27”), Resolution 13 stipulates the different cases where data subjects’ consent is exempted for processing personal data. Most of these lawful bases are similar to those under Resolution 27—except for the fourth case, which is brand new—with some changes for better clarity. According to Article 1 of Resolution 13, personal data can be processed without consent in the following five cases: (1) The processing is to protect the life and health of the data subject or others in an emergency situation. Data Controllers, Data Processors, Parties Controlling and Processing Personal Data, and Third Parties are responsible for proving this case; Remarks: Vietnamese law, including the prior published version of the Draft PDPD, has never used the terms “data controller”, “data processor,” and “parties controlling and processing personal data.” The inclusion of these terms suggests that the latest version of the Draft PDPD has adopted the GDPR-like concepts of “data controller” and “data processor.” However, until the latest version of the Draft PDPD can be assessed, it is uncertain how these concepts are defined and whether they are fully in line with GDPR definitions. (2) The disclosure of personal data is in accordance with the law; (3) The processing of data is performed by competent state agencies in the event of a state of emergency related to national defense, national security, social order and safety, major disaster, or dangerous epidemic; when there is a threat to security and national defense but not to the extent that a state of